Starting Again
by Aitnemed
Summary: Dax recieves a parcel from his dad and what's in it tears his world apart. He turns to Owen for guidance. Owen adopts Dax, no slash and please review. Sorry for any punctuation mistakes.
1. Recieving The Parcel

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Me and Gideon decided to check the post room after dinner-There had been a post delay earlier and Gideon's' dad usually leaves him and Luke loads of chocolate.

"I might as well check mine as well Gid" I murmured.

Gideon looked at me but his smile was sad before it turned into a manic grin as he emptied his and Luke's pigeonholes.

"Yeah hurry up; I need help carrying all this stuff" he said happily as he held out two huge boxes of chocolate.

I ignored the fact that Gideon was implying that I wouldn't get anything because I knew he didn't mean it like that. It was the truth, my dad never sent me anything so why would he now?

"How you and Luke manage to eat a whole box full of that stuff _each_ that totally baffles me Gid!" I said laughing.

"Yeah, but I have you to help me eat it" he replied grinning.

I put my hand in my pigeonhole not expecting to find anything but to my surprise I felt a huge parcel under my hand. I pulled it out

"Oi Gid, my dad sent me something!" I exclaimed happily showing him the parcel.

He smirked "The quicker we get back to the dorm, the quicker we get to see what's inside these parcels!"

I immediately started running towards our dorms with Gideon tearing after me seconds later.

"Hey Dax, wait up I have to carry two boxes!" Gideon called after me.

"Whatever Gid, I know you can carry both them boxes easily!" I replied, not looking back.

I reached the common room within minutes and Gideon arrived 20 seconds later. He put the boxes on the floor carefully before bending over and clutching his side.

"Dax did you...have to...run that fast?" he asked out of breath.

I grinned suddenly remembering why I'd been running so fast

"Yup" I said clearly not out of breath at all.

Gideon mock scowled, grabbed his boxes and strode into the common room while I followed him laughing. Lisa and Luke were the only ones in the common room. Luke was sitting nearest to the fire in a red over stuffed chair, reading a book. I looked at the book distastefully. I didn't mind books but long ones like the books Luke enjoyed reading put both me and his twin brother to sleep. The smell of nail varnish wafted over to me and I knew immediately that Lisa had been painting her nails. The girl I just mentioned was stretched out on the rug reading a magazine while her nails dried. She looked up at us.

"What was all the racket about?" she asked.

I turned slightly red

"My dad sent me a parcel!" I mumbled.

Luke caught my attention by tapping me on the shoulder. Luke is a mute and he hasn't spoken for nearly a year now. At first everyone tried to get him to speak, especially Gid. It broke his heart that Luke couldn't speak to him. Then he discovered that we could learn sign language or get him to use a notebook and pencil. I looked at him and he shoved his notebook in front of my face.

It read: _What's inside the parcel?_

"I don't know Gid said we had to wait until we were at the common room until we opened it. Oh yeah and he got you a parcel".

Gideon shot me a dirty look as he gave Luke his parcel

"I was gonna give it to him...eventually" he murmured.

Luke shoved his notebook in front of Gideon's face.

It read: _Yeah, sure you were_.

Gideon blushed but still maintained his innocence.

"Any way are you going to open the parcel now or later?" demanded Lisa.

"I think I'll see what's inside it later if you don't mind Lees" I whispered.

She and Gideon exchanged a look. Lisa and Gideon were the only people that knew that every night I got a letter from my dad saying he couldn't come, I cried myself to sleep.

"It's gonna be your turn in the cottage again this soon Daxy boy, do you reckon Alice and your lovely stepmom will make an appearance?".

Everyone there shuddered.

"I hope not Gid. Her screams may have permanently damaged my ear drums" I said grinning. Everyone laughed and Lisa went on to say "Everyone could hear her all the way from the cafeteria!" We stayed up laughing, eating chocolates from Gideon's and Luke's boxes and telling jokes until I said I was tired and wanted to go to bed. Three different variations of goodnight rang out throughout the darkness.

"Goodnight" I called back.

Gideon would join me in our room later, they probably wanted to give me some time alone to see what was in the box.


	2. What Is In It?

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This chapter going to be real short but the next one will be my normal size.

I laid the parcel on the bed and went to brush my teeth and get changed. After that I transformed into the peregrine falcon. Even after nearly three years of being able to turn into this creature it still amazes me every time I see my reflection. "Cree, Cree!" I screeched. As I flew to my bed, grabbed the parcel and dragged it out the window that was thankfully open, I realised I wouldn't be able to carry it far. It was heavy, at least for me. In fact, the parcel weighed almost as much as I did! I soared into the sky, I'd missed the feeling of the wind beneath my wings but this was no time for reminiscing I had a parcel to open. I dropped my parcel near the woods and quickly dive bombed after it. When I landed I immediately turned into Dax boy and I sat down next to the parcel quickly. I stared at the parcel before tearing off the blue paper hurriedly. On the side of the box there was one word: Fragile, written in my dads writing. I opened the box slowly, wanting to know what was inside it but at the same time my instincts me told me I wouldn't like what was inside. Inside was three boxes and a letter. The letter had Dax written on the front and underneath it said read first. The envelope was blue and small so after a few minutes of looking at it warily I opened it...

Inside was a letter written in my dads writing it read:

_Dax, I know I used to say I'd visit you in all my letters but I never did, did I? I made up awful excuses that you and I both knew wouldn't have stopped me if I really had wanted to see you. I made the effort to see Gina and Alice but I never tried with you. Dax, I really am sorry. You remind me so much of your mum, each day you'd look more and more like her. Your skin colour, hair colour and your eyes are exactly like hers and it broke my heart. I used to be proud of you. Do you know that? I'd parade you about on my shoulders and tell everyone all about what you'd done and when you said your first word...My god I told everyone! Your first word was dad. Then a few days later you said mum. It made me so proud that I was the first thing that you'd think of and when I was away you'd cry for me. Then I watched your mum die and all I had was you. I was bitter I guess. You were the last thing I had of her other than pictures, I got so depressed and I lost interest in you. I no longer paraded you around in fact I barely spoke of you. It was like when she died, you died with her._

I looked up from the letter, tears blurring my vision; this was why he'd written the letter? To tell me that he wasn't proud of me. I turned the page over. I didn't know there was worse to come._ I admit, I was never in love with Gina. She was just a distraction, something to keep my mind of your mum and you. When I went away she'd look after you and I think after a while she got sick of it. I'd spend long periods away from home, expect her to have the house clean when I get home, look after you and I still had pictures of my dead wife on the walls. She burned all the pictures when we weren't there but I hid quite a lot before she did, thank god. We both knew about the hidden one in the shed. I put it there because I knew she never went into the shed but she also never went into the attic which was where I hid the rest of them. I also knew about the times she'd hit you and make you do chores while she spoilt Alice rotten. I didn't do much about it, I just told Gina to stop. I know she didn't but she'd hit you when I wasn't there so I couldn't stop it. If I was there I swear I would of stopped it! Ok? I love you Dax! No matter how much I ignored you and was bitter towards you. I. Did. Love. You. Don't let anyone tell you different ok? This is the longest letter I've ever written to you. Isn't that funny? Anyway when Alice came along I ignored you and paid more attention to her. That was cruel, I know it was. I know most of the bad things everyone did towards you and I didn't stop hardly any of them because I hated you for looking like your mum! It wasn't just that though, I missed her so, so much. In the parcel alongside this letter there is every photo I ever took of you and your mum. I don't want them back. Your clothes will be sent along soon, please don't come back to the house ever again. I'm going to pretend you and your mum never existed because I cant get on with my life if you're in it! I don't want to see or hear from you ever again! Stay with your friends, I'm sure they wouldn't mind you staying with them. Remember Dax, I love you. Live well._

_Your Dad Yours truly, Robert Jones._

Tears streamed down my face as I put the letter down. Oh god. Oh god, oh god, oh god. My dad doesn't want me. I buried my head in my hands and rocked backwards and forwards, sobs racking my body.

About an hour later I stopped crying. To be honest I don't know why I was crying. I mean, for a while now I've known that my dad preferred Alice and Gina over me but then again to hear that he doesn't want me around...That...That hurts. I rummaged through the box, digging of three different piles of photos. The first pile was of dad...I mean Robert and my mum at they're wedding. Some were pictures of them together and some ere pictures of them apart I held my breath as I saw a picture of my mum wearing her wedding dress, she was alone in her picture. She had the most beautiful dress I'd ever seen. It was red and simple but it brought out her key features: deep soulful eyes, golden porcelain skin and dark, glossy shoulder length hair. In another picture was da-Robert and mum staring into each others eyes. You could see the love between them and it hurt to know that four, nearly five years later their relationship was ripped apart when his mum died. The second pile had pictures of me when I was young. In some of them I was alone but in most of them either mum or dad or both of them were in it. There was one particular photo that stood out. I was about two and wearing a pair of jeans a blue top that said I love my dad and a pair of blue flip flops. I was being held by my dad who was wearing jeans and a white top and he had the other arm wrapped around mums' waist. My mum was wearing a long pale blue dress and white sandals. We were standing in front of a house- not the one where Gina, Alice and my- Robert lived now, my old home, I thought with a pang but a different house. It was a white brick house that had a pale blue front door with the numbers 167 on it. It had the sea in the background and it looked beautiful. Do you know what made me so happy yet so sad at the same time? We were all smiling. In the third pile was picture of me during my school years before becoming a COLA and me with Alice. Alice, as annoying as I thought she was, she was my little sister and I would miss her. Miss her forcing me to play dolls with her, miss her showing off her new clothes to me and I'd miss her being around. She was much nicer and easier to be around when Gina wasn't there. I think I'll have to tell Owen, after all I doubt the government would allow me to stay on my own.

I packed all my things away exactly as I found them, turned into Falcon boy and flew to owens cottage that was nearby. The parcel seemed even heavier than earlier and by the time I had got there I realised how hungry and exhausted I was and nearly collapsed. I only had to knock on the door once before Owen answered it. "Dax...What the hell?" he exclaimed as I fell forwards. He caught me just before I hit the ground "Look inside the parcel, Owen. Tell me what to do" I whispered before passing out.


End file.
